By earning accreditation, BCMH has demonstrated it meets or exceeds patient safety standards (Conditions of Participation) set forth by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“The DNV GL program is consistent with our long-term commitment to quality and patient safety,” says Dr. John Bustle, Chief Executive Officer. “This partnership will help us continually get better at what we do. The ability to integrate ISO 9001 quality standards with our clinical and financial processes is a major step forward.”
Bates County Memorial Hospital has three years from the date of its accreditation to achieve compliance with ISO 9001, the world’s most trusted quality management system used by performance-driven organizations around the world to advance their quality and sustainability objectives.
“We have taken an entirely different approach to accreditation, and hospitals are really responding,” says DNV GL - Healthcare CEO Patrick Horine. “Since accreditation is a must-have credential for just about every hospital in this country, why not make it more valuable, and get more out of it? That’s where ISO 9001 comes into play, and turns the typical get-your-ticket-punched accreditation exercise into a quality transformation.”
DNV GL’s accreditation program, called NIAHO® (Integrated Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations), involves annual hospital surveys – instead of every three years – and encourages hospitals to openly share information across departments and to discover improvements in clinical workflows and safety protocols.
“I am very excited to see the positive changes we will make over the coming years,” said Dr. Bustle. “While we do a very good job already, we need to continue striving for excellence. There will always be room to improve what we do and how we do it.”
